Depends. Some of us may have already submitted to Q4, in which case Q1 looming out of the murk and into clairvoyance becomes only logical, captain.

Did somebody mention how many shopping days to Christmas? The football season has started over here. If the tyranny of the urban majority hadn't banned foxhunting I might have something else to do, but things being as they are I'll just have to amuse myself writing instead.

Ah, those long lost Autumn days when we would rise before dawn and don ratcatcher garb in order to hold up a likely looking covert at 5 am on a crisp morning with a hint of frost in the air and the leaves turning yellow on the chestnut trees in the meadow. The hot breath of a fine horse turning to vapour as it drifts away on the lightest of breezes and everywhere the scents and sounds of the declining year.

Such is politics these days, my friends. Apart from me and Bob Writer there are no true gentlemen left in the country.

Oh god, I don't even know what to try for yet. Work has been eating my life. I do want to try for this, though. I just need a concept that my brain doesn't auto-reject as stupid.

If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain2015, Q4: R2016: SF, n/a, SHM, SHM2017: SHM, n/a, F, R2018: HM, ?

Woo! Just made a big break-through on my Q1 story. I've been writing and rewriting and trying out different approaches for a couple months, now, and I was kind of not convinced that this one was ever going to gel into anything, but I think I just found a shape and a direction for it.

Still got a long way to go before it's anything good, but, hey, it's now a story in the making instead of a handful of half-baked scenes.

alpha wrote:Woo! Just made a big break-through on my Q1 story. I've been writing and rewriting and trying out different approaches for a couple months, now, and I was kind of not convinced that this one was ever going to gel into anything, but I think I just found a shape and a direction for it.

Still got a long way to go before it's anything good, but, hey, it's now a story in the making instead of a handful of half-baked scenes.

Nice! Glad things are starting to come together for you. :)

I've got mine outlined and am about a third of the way through my rough draft. Which basically means I'm about a third of the way through a whole hell of a lot of rewrites, because the language alone is enough to get the story an R thus far. The important thing right now is to get it out so I can make it better afterward, though.

If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain2015, Q4: R2016: SF, n/a, SHM, SHM2017: SHM, n/a, F, R2018: HM, ?

You read my Q4 story, disgruntled one. I definitely had to clean up some language. My favorite line of the whole story featured the F word quite prominently. I almost hope it loses, because I would sort of rather see it published with the profanity uncensored.

alpha wrote:You read my Q4 story, disgruntled one. I definitely had to clean up some language. My favorite line of the whole story featured the F word quite prominently. I almost hope it loses, because I would sort of rather see it published with the profanity uncensored.

Not that I would mind a win. Notice I said "almost."

I understand completely, on all counts. Good luck! Totally willing to trade stories for the upcoming quarter if/when you're ready (and I manage to wrestle mind into submission).

If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain2015, Q4: R2016: SF, n/a, SHM, SHM2017: SHM, n/a, F, R2018: HM, ?

I may actually submit early this quarter. My story is almost ready to go. That would be nice, especially since I don't have a firm outline for any new stories. Just a bunch of ideas that are good but I can't materialize into a solid story. That means I'm going to need all the time I can get, and March 30th seems like plenty of time. I hope.

I have the story I started writing for Q1 V32 -- I may actually be able to get it finished in time for Q1 V33, assuming I can resolve all the problems I have with it right now. There's a reason it's taking this long to get it to where I want it to be...

DoctorJest wrote:I have the story I started writing for Q1 V32 -- I may actually be able to get it finished in time for Q1 V33, assuming I can resolve all the problems I have with it right now. There's a reason it's taking this long to get it to where I want it to be...

The story I submitted to Q4 took two months of active writing/editing--*after* I putzed around not knowing what to do with it for a year and a half. I understand where you're coming from.

If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain2015, Q4: R2016: SF, n/a, SHM, SHM2017: SHM, n/a, F, R2018: HM, ?

Cute. I'll probably be in about halfway through the quarter, assuming I actually use the story I've been drafting. My rough draft has *way* too much swearing to get anywhere in the contest, but there's a reason it's my rough draft. I'm just worried I won't be able to cut the swearing without compromising the characters... If that's the case, I'll finish this story out, send it elsewhere and start on a different entry.

If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain2015, Q4: R2016: SF, n/a, SHM, SHM2017: SHM, n/a, F, R2018: HM, ?

I'm at 4400 actual words or thereby. I'm finding this story not straightforward to write, but I'm convinced if I can only finish it, it has real potential. As is so often the case I was inspired by a specific prompt but very vague about the structure. We'll see how it comes together.

Remember Cap'n Henlein's second rule?

I do, but it doesn't mean I have to see every step in the way in advance of setting out, does it?

disgruntledpeony wrote:Oh god, I don't even know what to try for yet. Work has been eating my life. I do want to try for this, though. I just need a concept that my brain doesn't auto-reject as stupid.

Amen to that. I have a sort of, maybe, might be good idea for Q1, we'll have to see how it goes.

I'm revising my Q2 HM for resubmission this quarter. Got some good feedback from a beta reader on how to bring it all together better. And since I have plenty of time, I'll probably send it through critters to see if there's anything else glaring I'm missing.